Literacy

2nd Trimester Unit of Study: 

Connecting Literary and Informational Texts to Study Culture “Then and Now”

In this module, students will use literacy skills to build expertise—using reading, writing, listening, speaking, and collaborative skills to build and share deep knowledge about a topic. This focus on research intentionally builds on Module 1, in which students explored the superpowers of reading. Specifically, students will seek evidence of culture, which can be thought of as the story of a group of people constructed through the generations; it can be evidenced through ancient and modern-day customs and traditions.

 

Unit 1 will begin with a class study of the culture of Japan: Students will read Magic Tree House: Dragon of the Red Dawn, a book set in ancient Japan, paired with Exploring Countries: Japan, an informational text about modern Japan.

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Unit 2 follows a similar pattern, but students work with increasing independence. They will form book clubs to build expertise on a different country—reading a new Magic Tree House book set in their selected country, paired with a new Exploring Countries informational text to learn about that country’s modern customs and traditions.

 

In Unit 3, students will demonstrate their expertise about how customs and traditions help us learn about culture by writing a research-based essay/letter to Magic Tree House author Mary Pope Osborne that informs Ms. Osborne of customs and traditions that have endured in a culture from ancient to modern time.

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1st Trimester Unit of Study: 

My Librarian is a Camel: How Books are Brought to Children Around the World

• This module uses literature and informational text such as My Librarian Is a Camel to introduce students to the power of literacy and how people around the world access books. This module is intentionally designed to encourage students to embrace a love of literacy and reading.

• In Unit 1, students will begin to build their close reading skills; students hear stories read aloud and read works in their entirety and excerpts of more challenging writing closely. Students examine the main message in literature about individuals and groups from world communities (including the United States) who have gone to great lengths to access education. Students will practice identifying the central message and taking notes in the provided categories.

• Then in Unit 2, students will focus more on what it means to be a proficient and independent reader. They will continue to read literature about characters who are motivated to learn to read, overcome struggles to learn to read, or are passionate about books and words. Students will assess their strengths and needs as readers, set goals, and begin the yearlong journey of becoming proficient and independent readers who have their own “reading superpowers.” (The phrase “reading superpowers” is meant to help third-graders understand what is required to demonstrate mastery of the Common Core reading standards.) This unit includes a heavy emphasis on building reading fluency.

• In Unit 3, students will delve into geography, and how where one lives in the world impacts how one accesses books. They will continue building knowledge and vocabulary related to world geography as they study excerpts from My Librarian Is a Camel, which describes how librarians overcome challenges of geography to get books to people. They will apply their learning by writing a simple information report about how people access books around the world, focusing on the role of specific librarians or organizations they studied.